Chapter 1 of The 1937 Dick Tracy movie serial


This movie is part of the collection: Short Format Films

Producer: Nat Levine
Audio/Visual: sound, B/W
Keywords: Action; Serial; Dick Tracy

Individual Files

Write a review
Downloaded 70,064 times Reviews
Average Rating:

Reviewer: SandraJDykes - - January 12, 2011
Subject: Out of sync
The sound is way out of sync.

Reviewer: billbarstad - - November 4, 2009
Subject: Not bad
There's no two-way wristwatch radio, no Tess Trueheart, but there is plenty of Tracy flying around to stop the nefarious Spider Ring. The Spider Ring isn't all that clever or evil so the subplots are kind of tame, which seems out of balance with all the comic relief in this serial.

Chapter 1 is the best of them. In Chapter 4, one of the team of Oscar and Elmer gets away with saying, "Grab your ass!", which surprised me, considering that this is a Hays Code-era movie serial for the kiddies. Loved the crazed look Dick Tracy got sometimes when he used his gun. Chapter 12 is mostly a recap episode. There's enough of the usual serial nonsense throughout.

I downloaded MPEG4 files, available for all but chapters 2 & 3. I chose 512Kb MPEG4 files for those two chapters. Video quality was good throughout. I had trouble understanding some dialog in early chapters, but on the whole audio was OK.

Reviewer: jimelena - - July 25, 2007
Subject: You have a free hand Dick, so go to it.
We shouldn't analyze the inadvertant jokes on the name Dick too much because Dick is a genius at police work.
Besides, a bunch of steel girders fall on top of him at the end of this episode, so he's dead and we should respect the dead.
Too bad too, it could've been a good series.
I'll watch the next installment to see who replaces him.

Reviewer: jon32774 - - March 23, 2007
Subject: More Quicktime please
First of all, the early Dick Tracy serials and feature films are superb. My complaint is that this was listed as Chapter 1. It is actually Chapter 3. Also, please make the rest of the films on the archive available for QUICKTIME download. Its much faster.

Reviewer: gentle ben - - January 28, 2006
Subject: Not Bad; Not Good
This Dick Tracy Serial is better than Undersea City and The Lost City, but isn't as good as Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, Ace Drummand or Radar Men from the Moon. The acting is the hammy sort you would expect from a Saturday Matinee serial. The plot is a bit thin, but it has about the same flavor as the Dick Tracy newspaper comic strip of the same era. The location is 1930s San Francisco Bay Area and occasionally there are interesting outdoor scenes of San Francisco and the bay with minor historical value.

Reviewer: Therby - - January 2, 2006
Subject: Great fun!
I have really enjoyed this Dick Tracy serial. I feel I missed a really fun era for kids at the theater. I am very happy to be able to take a glimps at that time. The stories are interesting and the action unrelenting...Great stuff!

Reviewer: dajudge - - April 13, 2005
Subject: Dissenting opinion
I also remember serials - though not quite so early - from years of Staurday matinees. However, I can't recommend this transfer. The serial is as expected, but ...

1. You won't find Chapter 2 in the new releases where the other 14 reside.

2. Dropouts are the rule not the exception, particularly in the early chapters. They shwo up as green frames or green blocks.

Da Judge

Reviewer: obieone - - April 8, 2005
Subject: What Great Fun
To see what enthralled me when I was a youngster to coax me back to the theater every Saturday morning is fun to relive. Of course, it is now hoakey melodrama, but the memory is very much alive, thus making this serial a real treat.
Oh for the days of the morning matinee.

Reviewer: Bangkok Ajarn - - March 21, 2005
Subject: Cool
great, i can't wait to download the rest of the serial. more serials please, they are great fun.